Chris LeValle's office occupies a tiny room on the second floor of a caramel-colored duplex in Springfield's Mason Square neighborhood. Chris grew up in this house; his mother lives here, his aunt in the other half.

"I keep telling my mom that Russell Simmons started out in a dorm room," he tells me as I survey his cramped quarters. A declaration of business, for Hav Not Entertainment, is tacked to the door of the office. On one wall, there's a whiteboard: "My Job Grind," it reads, followed by a checklist for updating and e-mailing resumes. Next to that, a wall of hip-hop handbills. Across the room, stacked on a TV, are copies of Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal and Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. On another wall, a piece of paper reads, "Stop the Bullshit Vol. 2." Crossed off on the list of goals that follows, dated October, 2007, are "Go Back 2 School" and "Get My TV Show On."

The TV show is called "What's the 413?" and it debuted on Springfield's cable access system on Thanksgiving Day in 2007. Since then, Chris, the show's executive producer and usual host, and Leandra Rivera ("Lay") have produced bi-weekly episodes (the show airs Thursdays and Fridays at 3:30, on channel 12) about life in Springfield.

In the early episodes, the focus leans toward hip-hop. But the show isn't limited. In the premier, Chris ad-libs an appeal for submissions to the show: "We showcase all the talent in the 413... so if you rap, sing, dance... you a poet, you an actor, you get good grades... you play tennis, basketball, football, hula hoop -- I don't know, jungle gym... you a cute kid, a model, you're a computer whiz, you got your own store or business... You need to be doing it on What's the 413 TV."

On a quiet morning at Tower Square's food court, I met Chris and Lay to ask them about their mission.

How did the experience of growing up in Springfield encourage you to create this show?Chris: In the urban areas, mostly in Springfield -- sometimes being a minority labels you one way or another. One of my biggest points is to show that, being a minority -- I'm not shooting, I'm not selling crack, I'm not doing nothing like that. I'm trying to be effective, I'm trying to be a role model. So coming up, I just wanted to be different. I didn't want to be labeled; I didn't want to be in that category of stereotypes. Most of the news that people talk about is negative news. So, as opposed to that, instead of hearing my friends talk about who got shot, who fought, who went to jail -- I had this show start on Thanksgiving Day. I didn't really tell many people who were actually gonna be on the show that they were gonna be on the show, so it would cause this excitement like, "I'm on TV! How did I get on TV?" You know what I mean? I just wanted them to feel something...

And also there's a unity thing. There's a lot of things going on; a lot of people do music and a lot of creative and talented things, but they don't do them together. So, I wanted a place where everybody was shown in an equal spot, where everybody can get their shine, get their talent shown. There's a lot of things in Springfield where you may be able to get a chance, but you have to fall into some category. There is no category with What's the 413 TV. You can be a poet. You can be just a smart kid -- because that needs to be shown just as bad as anything else. Sometimes it's not cool to be the smart kid. I'm trying to make it cool to be the smart kid now.

Lay: Speaking of the separation in the town -- unity was mainly what I wanted to focus on. It was always a topic, with our friends being involved in shootings and things of that sort. It was always in our minds at all times, whether on a personal level or just a friend who knows a friend. So just putting everyone all together who would probably never be in the same room -- because of street problems or anything else -- to see them on the same show is a big deal in Springfield. People are just amazed to see them all together. The unity is the main focus, but it's also a variety show to involve everyone. People who usually wouldn't get their shine on TV or get their 15 minutes can now get theirs.

Your press release mentioned the inconsistent media coverage of Springfield's talent, particularly in the hip-hop scene. Who are some of the standouts who you think should've been getting more coverage all along?Chris: From the hip-hop perspective, there's Gator Entertainment, and they've worked with artists who've made it. They make beats and they rap. There's also MORE Entertainment, another label, and they work really, really, really hard. We have to go out of town so much, you know what I mean? So they get out there and they do that. Had we had more media coverage here -- or even a radio station, or something -- it would be a little bit easier for us.Lay: ... There's a lot of really driven people here.

Why do you think media coverage has been lacking or inconsistent? I ran into AJ Baymon the other day, and he told me a singing group he's with was performing in Japan back in December, that they go twice a year. I hadn't seen that.Chris: It's unbelievable, right?

Right. So why is the coverage inconsistent, and what can be done about that?Lay: I think because, in Springfield, a lot of violent acts were happening one right after another, it turned into a media frenzy. So the only the thing the media looks at are the negative things.

Chris: And it's good ratings.

Lay: And a lot of the things musically, people don't know about because they're underground. Or if they do promote them, they don't know how to get them to the news stations.

Chris: Or they don't respect it. Just because of the fact that hip-hop music is just thrown away or whatever. One of the artists that I work with, he told me right out, "Look, if I wasn't doing this, I'd be on the street corners." So, OK, they're rapping about things that maybe you may not approve of, but you're not taking the time to notice that, OK, there's maybe about 20 or 30 guys that are involved in this that aren't... How about at least rewarding them for that? Rewarding them for trying to do something different, and at least positive, at least in the fact that they're not on the streets right now. I think that that shuns people.

Then like AJ, for instance, because he doesn't have the hip-hop stigma, but -- where's his opportunity? Other than Stone Soul or Organix Soul, there's only so many things you can perform in. And the circle that likes you will pretty much find you; you end up with the same crowd. It's hard to get new people involved. I think the media could help there. If I could open up the newspaper and see AJ instead of, you know, car crashes. They'll put car crashes in there. You know what I mean? Like, car crashes? So that's why I'm trying to dig in and find those people ... as opposed to car crashes.

How's the response been from the press release? Has anyone else lined up interviews with you?Chris: No. You are the first, and thank you for being the first and the only. You're proving the point.

Springfield is well known for its metal and rock scenes, but there are venues for that. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but does it seem like there are very few venues for hip-hop shows? Why is that the case?Chris: Because sometimes the hip-hop thing comes with that stigma, and people don't want that kind of crowd there, for fear there's going to be a fight or whatever. And actually it's funny, because we went to a performance at the Orchard Lounge, and we were all there -- it was one of the best times I've had in a while. And you know what? There are some hip-hop shows. DJ Suspense, he had a series, he called it City Slickers; more recently, there's been a little bit more of an opportunity. Some people bend and they let us in there. It's just typically, it comes with a stigma. We have to do things -- even if it's hip-hop, we make sure there's poetry involved, or R&B, or something so that the owners don't get flakey.

So you're more likely to get booked if it's not strictly a hip-hop show?Lay: You add a couple of singers, a couple of poets. It helps.

I can imagine in some ways it must be frustrating that you can't just put on a hip-hop show, but in others it must lead to some really interesting performances.Lay: The Orchard Lounge -- we weren't even aware the Orchard Lounge was happening every Friday.

Chris: We didn't even know that was happening. An artist, Tommy Pockets, he invited us to come out there and tape him. We got there, and both of us were like -- the Orchard Lounge? Tthis was how far we had to go -- the Orchard Lounge? I'd never heard of the Orchard Lounge. But they bent a little, and they let the hip-hop in, and it was cool. It was real cool.

And sometimes there's more opportunity for poets and R&B artists to perform, but it's back to the separation thing a little bit. So my hip-hop friends, they don't know AJ, and AJ's good. They don't know D Moss, who's a poet, they don't know a lot of these artists. They don't mix.

Lay: Everybody keeps in their own areas, and they're very separated.

Chris: Because nobody's inviting them all at one time.

So, part of the mission of the show is...Lay: To bring everybody to the table.

Chris: And I have a relationship with D Moss, and I have a relationship with Gator Entertainment, and one of these days we're going to throw the big, bang-up show and just throw everybody in there together. And my mom's going to like it, and the kids are going to like it, you know what I mean?

Another passage from your press release talks about the problem of kids having unrealistic expectations about obtaining "luxury" items. That's something that ends up getting discussed a lot -- Bill Cosby will talk about people spending too much on sneakers. Can you talk a little more about how that plays out in the community?
Lay: What today's youth, I think -- because they see the luxurious things on the TV, and the media portrays that's almost how you have to be in order to feel happy, in order to feel successful, in order to be fulfilled -- because of that, they feel they have to do whatever they have to do to get that. So I know people who wont' get their next meal as long as they get their new pair of sneakers. But it's because they always have that in the back of their mind -- like, the only way I look successful, the only way --

Chris: It validates them.

Lay: It validates that they're doing good.

Chris: And people don't realize, like for instance, I tallied it up one day, and this is why I don't sell drugs. I want you to put this in there, please. The reason I don't sell drugs is -- I added it all up. And the amount plus the average amount of money you can make did not total up to just going to a 40-hour job. And maybe I might have a little less money than some of the guys out there, but I'll probably make the same money as the average guy out there.

Lay: And you can sleep with your eyes closed.

Chris: Exactly. I get a good rest, and I wake up. But people don't look at, "I could cut out all of this drama." But also -- people don't know what you can do. I know a lot of people that want to be rappers, or performers, or play basketball -- everybody goes through these same kinds of dreams. ... I think it's because, for instance -- when I started working with music, I wasn't going to be a rapper because I didn't want to oversaturate it; plus, I'm just not that good. And I can't sing. So, I'm on the computer a lot, so I offered that to them. The video thing -- I started doing video with them; just different things that people don't even know that you can do within music. Like, if you love music and want to be involved in music, there's other things you can do. Sports is the same thing. I don't think people know the jobs you can have...

You go all the way through those industries and there are a lot of jobs beyond the people you see out front.Chris: And even regular jobs -- you know, regular person, electrician jobs... But when you're little, what do you know? Lawyer, fireman, policeman. But 90% of us aren't doing that, so now what are we going to do? I think that's when it switches to basketball or -- hey, drug dealer might work out. You look around and you probably see more "successful" people that are drug dealers as opposed to being anything else.

I work in a store on Boston Road, and there's a lot of kids that come through and talk to me and I tell them it's the total opposite; I'm like "Yo, that's just not working out." There's one kid, he needs help with his financial aid and all that. He comes and asks me college questions like every single day to help him prepare. And I'm forcing him to go to school. Just try something you love, try something different.

In the mayor's inaugural speech, he presented a list of priorities. Public safety was at the top of the list, and he's talked a lot about putting 50 more cops on the streets. If you could meet with the mayor, what would you suggest for strategies for Springfield?Lay: I think there's a lot of work that needs to be done. Being from Springfield -- there was a time when we lost a lot of money, when the budget cuts started. Budget cuts from schools, and kids weren't able to take part in the programs that they enjoyed. And it was kind of like everyone just wasn't there for the kids anymore. I think that's what started everything. I don't think the youth have trust in anyone to help...

Chris: Not just in Springfield, but period -- I think the way you stop this is you go into the homes. There's a lot of mothers, single mothers, there's single mothers with too many kids. There's a lot of things going on, and you need to address those issues from the inside out. Go into the homes, help the mothers with raising the kids...

Lay: A lot of the kids are raising themselves.

Chris: I was lucky. I grew up with my mother and my grandmother. Not everybody has that. Not everybody even has a mother who worries about if they come home at night, some kind of rules, some kind of parameters.

And if we get the kids early enough, and let them know -- drugs, this isn't the way. And you have to make it cool. There needs to be some kind of rewards. Because kids are like, "Why get an A? Tell me why I need to get an A." The kids in high school, I tell them college -- that's your shot. You get to go wherever in the country you want, as long as you get good grades in high school. They don't know that. Or maybe some of them know that, but it's not as appreciated because I just told them that.

I think you need, as a whole, more of a community effort to take care of each other. Go into the homes and stop it before they get out there on the streets...

[Here Kellen Kash, the publicist who wrote Chris and Lay's press release, interjects.]Kellen: The mayor could hire 50 new role models. Or, hire 20 role models in a community program. There's one in Richmond California where the kids actually have a rap studio to go to. So, instead of going and selling drugs, they want to do their real dream which is what everybody wants -- to be a musician and be famous. So he could hire some people to run that. ... You have to replace crime with something else.

Chris: Hire me. I'm 25, I'm using my power; and all it is -- I look like them. I fit in. ... So, hire me. Give me a bigger class, because I'm only doing one apiece when they come into my store. Give me 30, 40, 50 of them. Just let me go off for a little while and let me tell them what it really is. And this is another thing I believe -- we don't give back what we know enough.

What does the future hold for What's the 413? What do you have coming up?Chris: I'm actually trying to work on a voter registration rally. ... I just want to do something really big, really different, and show us in a whole other light. So what I want to do is get one of these clubs out here where we party at anyway to throw an event. I'll have somebody come down, a major artist, and charge everybody some wild price to get in if they don't register. If they do register, ten dollars or something like that, so I can get people to register to vote. It's just miseducation -- we don't even realize the power we have in voting. But I know, so I'm trying to pass it on to everyone else.

Chris and Lay want to hear from the community about ideas for the show. To contact them, e-mail whatsthe413@gmail.com; videos are available at youtube.com/whatsthe413tv.